Biased and Objective

You’re biased, and that’s okay. You love what you love and hate what you hate. I get it. I hope your biases are not based on group stereotypes or misinformation, however. I hope they are simply preferences about things that are of little to no significance. You love Fords and hate Chevys. You love PCs and hate Macs (which will bring you great scorn from Mac devotees, of course). Whatever.

But there is a common misconception that if you are biased you cannot be objective. But it is possible for anybody to be objective about anything. It’s actually a sign of maturity if you can criticize something you love. A core problem in our current political discourse is that many on the right and the left have no interest in being objective. Democrats do not understand that it’s okay to say that Obamacare is a dysfunctional, overpriced, bloated mess. They can still be proud Democrats. Some Republicans (like myself) have been objective about Trump, saying that he is an inarticulate narcissist who shouldn’t be the president of anything. Even though I believe that about a Republican president, I don’t need to denounce all my political views. But other Republicans believe they should love what Trump loves and hate what Trump hates, lest they be perceived as being disloyal to the brand.

So…you can be biased and objective. It’s actually a much easier way to live. It keeps you from defending the indefensible.